The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-06-07

POUNDS Christian science, and that is
faith cure" would, with your
permission, like to point out the dis
tinction here. Christian science in
wolves faith and more than faith, as
we will try to show, but it does not
regard faith as a curative agent.
The first grade of faith may be desig-
mated as belief, which, as commonly
understood, is the intellectual credit
which is given to testimony. and does
not necessarily imply anything more
than a mere mental progress, and as
such has no influence upon the life in
reforming it.
FAITH PROPER
is higher grade of this belief and In
wolves spiritual perception and con-
viction of the reality of that which
lies beyond the material sense. Trust
is a still higher grade and implies the
hearts cOmmittai Of all our interests to
God for time and eternity.
The highest grade Of all is that
which Christian science calls COM
plete knowledge or such an under.
standing of God as implies the con-
scious possession of the subsistence
OF things hoped for, the evidences of
things not seen" 1t is that spiritual
state in which we know for certain
ty that God is all, and that He gov
erns all according to His infinite wis.
dom, love and power. 1t is such a
spiritual apprehension of the very ma
ture of God as to exclude all doubt,
fear and anxiety, and to put us
where Paul was when he said, 81
know in whom | have believed"
By such a knowledge of God, sin
and sickness is cured, but "faith
cure" as it is generally understood,
has for its basis personal or human
lied God, who is supposed to be in
! fiuenced in His actions by human con-
siderations presented to Him by the
suffering, or others in their behalf, so
as to arrest, interfere with or suspend
what is supposed to be the course of
nature in disease, and thus, because of
the sO-called prayer of faith. doing
that which, if left to the counsel of
His own will, He would not have
done. In Christian science God is
principle, and is never subject to
change Of action, neither is He re-
spector of persons, as it is written, 81
am the Lord, | change not" We
teach that, if His spiritual laws are
obeyed, health and harmony is the re-
suit, if disobeyed, suffering must fol-
low until suffering destroys the belief
of pleasure in sin, and We are brought
back to God, who never pardons in
the sense of preventing suffering as
the result of violating His law, but He
does,
THROUGH THE SPIRIT,
give to the truly penitent person such
an understanding of truth as to de-
stroy the love and power of sin.
Thus Christian science teaches that
when truth is spiritually preceived,
understood, and heartily embraced.
truth, and not the prayer of faith, de-
stroys the sin and sickness.
Now, in as few words as possible |
| will endeavOr to give clear state
ment of the teachings of Christian
science.
First let me say little as to the
name, for so many affirm "That it is |
neither science nor Christian" Sir
William Hamilton in his lectures on
logic defines science as follows: "A
complement of cognitions, having in
point of form the character of logi-
cal perfection and in point of matter
the character of real truth"
If this is accepted as authority
then our claim to a science is not
pretentions, for We begin with "God
as the great Am; the all-knowing,
all-seeing. all-acting, ALLOWING, all |
wise and eternal; principle, mind.
soul, spirit, life, truth, love, sub
stance, intelligence" That is the
basis of our science, and that we
affirm "has the character of real
truth" and from that basis deduct
ions are made as perfect in
logic as we can possibly |
make them. Then, as to the word
Christian, We call it so simply because
it is Christ's method of curing sin and |
sickness. When the principle-life,
truth and love-of that method is |
perceived, acknowledged, understood
and applied, the evils $50 called) of
our mortal condition can be assailed |
and removed with as much certainty
of success as the master ofalgebra can,
by an understanding of the principles |
of arithmetic solve its most difficult |
problem.
TIE ONLY LIMIT